1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns embossed film-to-foam laminate.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Flexible, open cell foam is known to have good acoustical properties. For many uses of such acoustical foam, such as wall panels, increased durability and aesthetics are desired. Previous attempts to increase the durability and abrasion resistance of acoustical foam included laminating a protective sheet to the surface of the foam. However, the placing of a protective sheet in front of a good sound absorbing foam significantly impaired the sound absorbing properties of the acoustical foam. Examples of foam-to-sheet laminates are contained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,413, issued July 8, 1969 to Philip Miller and U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,882, issued Feb. 4, 1969 to Albert L. McConnell et al. In addition to laminating a cover sheet to the foam, such processes also imparted an embossed pattern to foam by a procedure known as "masking" during heat lamination. However, the sheet material was not adhered to the foam at many locations because of the presence of a masking fluid. The abrasion resistance of such a laminate is much less because of the absence of adhesive in parts of the embossed pattern.
Prior art relating to embossed, perforated laminates but not concerning laminates having an acoustical foam backing is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,292,619. Also, embossed foam rubber-to-foam laminates are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,752,279. However, in that disclosure the perforations continue through the foam with the sidewalls of the perforations covered by the film thereby impeding sound penetration into the foam.